Honored Dead
by Eringo94
Summary: Pepper's heart stops beating. She cannot breathe. As the North Tower of the World Trade Center collapses, so does Pepper. Her eyes are wide with horror, and she knows she will never see her father again. A 9/11 story. Pre- Iron Man One-shot


**A/N: On behalf of honoring all those who died and sacrificed their lives on 9/11, I wanted to write a story. Obviously, it's set in the marvel universe. I don't know if in the comics they specify Pepper's father's name, but I made it up. **

**This was really hard to write for me emotionally. I had to stop every once in a while because I felt like I was going to cry all over my computer.**

**I know that Pepper and Tony would have probably known about 9/11 the moment it happened, but for the sake of the story, they are kind of clueless until… well, you'll find out.**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own characters or anything marvel related.**

Pepper glares at Tony from across the room, trying to convey with her eyes that _he better damn well start paying attention to this board meeting or so help her god she was going to rip him to pieces. _Tony catches her eye and smirks. He gives her a flirtatious wink and goes back to the device he is playing with. Not the first time in the three years she has worked for him, Pepper sighs and suppresses the desire to throttle him over the head with something. Preferably heavy. Instead, she looks over back at the head of PR and continues to listen to his ideas for better advertising. If Tony isn't going to listen, then she will.

BEEP BEEP BEEP

Pepper frowns at Tony. _Why can't this man just sit through ONE meeting and actually listen to what is happening in HIS company? Why?! _When Pepper sees that Tony is looking at her in surprise, she raises her eyebrows in bewilderment. _He has the audacity to look at me like that? I swear, I'm going to take his phone and throw it—_

"Mrs. Potts? Perhaps you would like to take that?" Pepper whirls around to face the head of PR once again and sees that he is annoyed. At her. _Me?!_

BEEP BEEP BEEP

Pepper frowns again and looks down. She blushes a dark shade of scarlet when she sees that it was _her_ phone ringing. Tony snickers from where he is sitting and says "My my Mrs. Potts, that isn't proper etiquette at all." She glowers at her boss. _Don't kill him Pepper. It's not worth the jail time._ Pepper looks at the caller ID to see what _idiot_ would be calling her when she explicitly left order to be left undisturbed.

John Potts. Pepper's eyes widen in surprise. Why was her father calling her?

BEEP BEEP BEEP

Pepper gets up from her chair and excuses herself. She murmurs a quick apology and walks quickly to the adjoining bathroom. Once there, she presses the talk button. The first thing she hears is a lot of static. She recoils from the phone but quickly presses it back to her ear. She then hears the heavy breathing of her father. Dread begins to build in her stomach. "Dad?"

"Oh thanks god, I didn't know… if you were going to pick up." He father's voice is filled with relief. She hears a fit of gut wrenching coughs on the other end. _Was he okay?_ In the background, she hears a woman screaming, begging for help. She grips her phone tightly in her hand. "Dad? Are you okay? W-what's going on?" She can't help the tremble in her voice.

"Honey, there.. an … attack at the WTC. Two… planes. One hit… the north tower and… the other hit… south… The South… collapsed." The static makes it hard for Pepper to hear him but she catches most of it. She feels the blood drain from her. Her knees begin to tremble. Frantically, she grasps the sink, desperate for leverage. "Oh my god." She feels tears springing in her eyes. "Daddy where are you?"

More heavy breathing. "I'm in the north tower… Got to help these people get out…" Pepper feels her heart beat quicken. _No daddy… no. _Her father is a firefighter in New York City. "Dad, don't do this. Please get out of there- tell me that you're okay. _Please."_

_Oh god please no… please please please._ She hears a painful sigh. Tears are rolling down her cheeks. "Baby, you know I got to do my job. It's okay. I'm okay. Don't worry about me. I just wanted to hear your voice is all." He gets off the phone for a second. She hears him shout orders to a person, another fireman no doubt. "Make sure there is nobody else trapped on this floor before we go up!"

Pepper comes undone. She presses her hand to her mouth and sobs. Her tears make her mascara run so that she has black lines running down her face. "Daddy, please don't do this me. Don't you dare leave me. Please, I love you so much and—"

He soothes her. His voice is calm and strong. "I love you too Pepper. I promise everything is going to be alright. Are we still on this weekend? I've… been dying to come to Malibu to see you. It's… been way to long." He laughs. To Pepper it sounds more like a sob.

Pepper chuckles weakly. Yes. Her father had been planning on visiting her this weekend. She had it planned for months. She couldn't wait to see him again. She has a feeling, however, that she won't be seeing him now. Not ever again. She still nods, even though he can't see her. "Yes, we're still on. F-first, I am going to take you to one of my favorite restaurants- they make the be-best pizza. You'll l-love it. Then I'm going to take you to SI, so you can meet my boss. I know you ad-admire his work and then daddy, we can do whatever you want. I'll take you where ever you want. But you have to come. You have to promise me that you're going to be okay and that you're going to—"

She hears pain wracking coughs again. "I promise Pepper. I swear." She hears his voice shake. Pepper sobs even harder. _Please don't be lying daddy…_ Her hands are trembling and she can't hold the phone straight anymore.

"I just want you to… know Pepper that I love… you. I love you so much and you… make me so proud… and you are the best… thing in my … life—" Abruptly, the line cuts off. There is only static. Pepper looks at her cell phone is horror. "Daddy? Please answer. Please answer your phone… please please please…" She begs meekly. He doesn't answer.

On shaky legs, Pepper desperately runs out of the bathroom. Everything is a blur. Some people stand up, concerned for her no doubt. She probably looks like hell. Some look at her as if she has lost her mind. She thinks she has. Either way, she pushes past them. Suddenly, Tony grabs her, his eyes narrowing in concern.

"Pepper, what's wrong?!" She ignores him too and pushes him to the side. She sees what she is looking for, the remote control, and quickly turns on the television. She puts on CNN. The room erupts in gasps, screams and cries of fear and outrage.

Pepper's heart stops beating. She can't breathe. As the North Tower _collapses_, so does Pepper. Her legs crumble underneath her. She would have hit the floor, if not for Tony, who catches her. Numbly, Pepper looks up at Tony, who is screaming something at her. She doesn't see or hear him. She continues to see that damn tower. It's collapsing. Falling falling falling. _Daddy was in there when it collapsed. _Pepper feels her eyes widen in terror. _HER FATHER WAS IN THAT BUILDING! _

She doesn't hear herself scream. But she does. She screams and screams and screams. Tony tries to hold her still as her body arches with the effort of her screams. Eventually, a darkness begins to creep up on her. She sees Tony, exhausted with effort, crouched over her, cradling her face. She notes how there is fear in his eyes. The darkness begins to envelope her, until she can't see him. She doesn't mind. She finds peace in its embrace.

00000

Pepper wakes up very comfortable. She stretches a bit and realizes that while she recognizes her surroundings, she doesn't know how she got there. She sees Tony standing, arms crossed, glaring at the television. Right. She is in his house in Malibu. She gets up slowly, feeling woozy. Tony sees her and immediately moves to go help her.

"I got you Pepper. Just take it easy." He helps move her towards the couch. "What happened Tony? How did I end up here?"

"You uh… to put it nicely, had a panic attack during the meeting and fainted. When we learned what…what happened in Manhattan, I ended the meeting and dismissed everyone. I decided to just bring you here instead of your house so that I can keep an eye on you." She nods in acceptance and cringes when she hears the anchorman cover what they are quickly calling a terrorist attack. Tony looks at the floor as he speaks to her. "They confirmed it was al Qaeda. Those fucking bastards hijacked four planes. Two of the planes crashed into the Twin Towers. They just… collapsed. They're fucking gone Pep- like they never even existed." Tony releases a shuddering breath. "Another plane struck the Pentagon. The last plane crashed in Pennsylvania- the passengers fought the hijackers. It was headed to DC. Jesus fucking christ." Tony puts his hands to his face and breathes in deeply.

Pepper feels fresh tears rolling down her cheek. _All those people…dead… my father amongst them.._ "My father was a fireman. He was i-in the North Tower when it col-collapsed. During the meeting, he called me t-to to-" She can't say anymore. Tony looks at her in horror before enveloping her in his arms. She can't control the sobs that come forth. They are loud, full of agony and Pepper can't do anything but grasp Tony, irrationally afraid to let go. Tony holds on to her tightly and strokes her hair.

"He was in that building when it collapsed! He-He promised me he was going to okay Tony! He told me everything was going to be fine! We had plans! He was supposed to come visit this weekend! Now he can't! He lied to me! He's gone- dead! I'm alone now. Oh god I'm all alone!" Tony feels tears roll down his face. Words can't describe how he felt. Pepper lost her father in the worst way possible. And he couldn't do a damn thing about it. Instead, he hugs her to him more tightly and presses a kiss to her forehead. "You're not alone Pepper. I'm still here. As long as I'm here, you will never be alone. Do you hear me?" Pepper looks into his deep brown eyes and gives a shaky sob. Her face is blotchy and puffy from crying and her hair looks like a fur ball. But she is beautiful, Tony thinks.

"Than… thank you Tony." Tony doesn't say anything. Only continues to hold her as she cries, attempting to shield her from the horrors of reality.

00000

Its weeks before they find her father's body. Pepper buries him next to her mother. Tony is with her. She tells him it isn't necessary, that she can go to New York by herself, but he doesn't have that. He demanded he be there for her. And god damn it if she didn't need him. She buys two bouquets of white flowers and places them on both of their graves. Tony holds her hand in his tightly, never letting go.

_I love you guys. I miss you both… so much._ The tears roll down her face, hitting the ground softly. Tony doesn't say anything. He puts his arm around her waist and hugs her to him. She smiles a little at his gentility.

They stay for a long time. She knows it's silly. But she needs her parents comfort… even if they were buried six feet underground. Tony doesn't complain. She sighs. "I can't believe he's gone. I always thought he would live to one hundred-it was a joke between us." Tony takes her face in his hands and looks into her eyes. "Your father died a hero Pepper. He put his life on the line to save others. He's a truehero in my book_._" Pepper smiles widely, tears still rolling down her cheeks. "Yeah… he was."

Before they go back to California, Tony makes an appearance at the memorial. He speaks on behalf of all the policemen, firefighters and volunteers who bravely put their lives at risk on September 11th, 2001. He asks for a moment of silence for all the souls that were lost that day, including for those at the Pentagon and for the heroes on flight 93. Pepper is at his side through it all.

On the way back to Malibu, Pepper goes to Tony and hugs him. She tries conveys all her gratitude and appreciation in it. "Thank you Tony." He smiles and says nothing as he hugs her back.

A week later Tony tells her that he under seeing the construction of a brand new World Trade Center.

Pepper smiles and thinks that it is a brilliant idea.

**Dedicated to all the brave souls who perished on 9/11. You will never be forgotten.**


End file.
